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Farmers: Income

Volume 462: debated on Tuesday 10 July 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the average annual earnings of farmers in (a) Ribble Valley, (b) the north-west and (c) the UK in each year since 1979. (147428)

Information is not available in the precise form requested and the Farm Business Survey is not able to provide figures for (a) Ribble Valley. The following table shows average net farm income per farm in (b) the north-west Government office region and (c) the UK in each year since 1980-81. Data are not available on a comparable basis for earlier years.

Average net farm income

£ per farm

North-west

United Kingdom

1980-81

10,788

7,013

1981-82

18,460

10,005

1982-83

11,519

11,341

1983-84

13,734

10,714

1984-85

16,163

11,817

1985-86

9,630

6,675

1986-87

13,296

10,011

1987-88

11,733

11,571

1988-89

16,082

12,319

1989-90

20,311

15,482

1990-91

15,995

14,288

1991-92

17,621

15,250

1992-93

20,558

19,166

1993-94

26,134

21,923

1994-95

24,006

24,123

1995-96

29,009

31,776

1996-97

24,389

26,027

1997-98

15,082

12,213

1998-99

9,086

8,512

1999-2000

7,277

6,639

2000-01

15,179

8,666

2001-02

21,383

12,992

2002-03

17,108

13,728

2003-04

21,243

23,932

2004-05

16,596

17,991

2005-06

16,293

17,508

Source:

Farm Business Survey

Net farm income is defined as the return to the principal farmer and spouse for their manual and managerial labour and on the tenant type capital of the business. It excludes all income arising from outside the farm business.